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Joby Aviation's aircraft

Electric flying vehicle gets clearance for flight tests in the US

29 June 2023

Joby Aviation's electric flying vehicle has received regulatory permission to begin test flights in the US, ahead of delivering the vehicle to the US Air Force next year


Nematode worms use electricity to jump onto bumblebees and fly away

21 June 2023

Bees accumulate an electrical charge as they fly through the air, and experiments show that C. elegans worms can exploit this to leap through the air and hitch a ride


Electrical field of a fruit fly

Jumping parasitic worms use static electricity to hit their targets

15 March 2023

Millimetre-long worms use powerful muscles to jump onto their bee or fly hosts to feed. But their expert leaping may be helped by an electric attraction that pulls them to their targets mid-air


Electric power station with blue sky background

A massive power transformer shortage is wreaking havoc in the US

11 March 2023

A nationwide shortage of power grid transformers is causing delays across the US for everything from infrastructure for electric vehicles to new homes


Illustration of a pulse of electrons

Shortest pulse of electrons ever created lasts just 53 attoseconds

25 January 2023

A record-breaking short pulse of electrons just 53 billionths of a billionth of a second long has been generated – it is so fast it could allow microscopes to grab images of electrons jumping between atoms


TOPSHOT - The sun sets behind the Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay in the Irish Sea in north west England on May 26, 2021. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

UK expects to produce more electricity than it needs by 2030

18 May 2022

New offshore wind farms built as part of the UK’s Net Zero Strategy are expected to turn the country into a net exporter of electricity


Static electricity can keep desert solar panels free of dust

11 March 2022

Dust drastically lowers the output of solar panels, but applying an electric field to the panels can make dust particles repel each other and disperse


Green young peas growing in a greenhouse - fresh healthy organic food, agriculture business concept.; Shutterstock ID 2019455228; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Can electric fields help plants grow? New claims met with caution

13 January 2022

A study suggests that a small device powered by wind and rain can boost crop yield, but other researchers have cast doubt on the findings


Someone holding two power cables

USB-C chargers: Will EU law cut down on e-waste or just anger Apple?

24 September 2021

The European Union wants all smartphones and other portable devices to use USB-C chargers, but Apple says such a law would stifle innovation for its iPhones


Man walking on wooden floor

Wooden floors laced with silicon generate electricity from footsteps

1 September 2021

Wooden floors impregnated with silicon and metal ions can generate enough electrical power from human footsteps to power light bulbs or other small electrical appliances


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